It’s early, it’s sunny, we’re having breakfast and after a full night aboard the Princess Seaways we’re pretty close to Newcastle!
They say waiting always takes forever and they’re right, it really seemed to take forever to get off the boat and through customs but we made it. Newcastle soil under our feet.
Getting to the airport to pick up the rental car was easy, dragging a big and heavy bag along not so much. I’m so happy with my very easy to carry bagpack at those times 😉
We ended up upgrading to a bigger car, a very comfortable Ford Focus, so both our bags fit in the trunk.
Steve from the rental company told us the best places for lunch and things to see along the way up to Edinburgh. So with Noëlla behind the wheel and me navigating, off we went to Craster. Unfortunately the small car park near the castle was completely full, so no castle for us to see here :(.
Instead we had a lovely lunch at The Cottage Inn, a very busy local pub.
Luckily Steve told us of more things to see so we headed to Bamburgh for Bamburgh Castle. Apparently the best Castle in the northern area. With only one castle we’ve seen so far we can’t deny that claim, the views were spectacular, very close to the sea it’s located perfectly for both cultural and beach exploring. You walk right down to the sea from the castle. If you’re in the area, go see, I think it’s worth it!
We’d like to stay a bit longer but we still have a few hours to drive before reaching Edinburg. Along the way, the views are wonderful and when we reach the Scottish border, we just have to stop and take touristy photos 🙂
Edinburg wasn’t hard to find and the hotel was pretty conveniently located off a main road into a quiet street. I’m glad I have such good navigator skills 😉 (TomTom helped a little, in all honesty, I’m more the ‘road signs reader, what’s up ahead’ girl since driving and reading all road sides and warnings at the same time isn’t easy)
Edinburg city centre is wonderful, old buildings, lovely architecture and of course the Edinburgh Castle (which unfortunately was closed by the time we got there). We walked along the Royal Mile with its many souvenir, kilt and jewellery shops and restaurants. Princess street is worth a visit too and it’s all very easy to get to by bus, so no inner city driving is needed!
Day one of our road tripping adventure through Scotland has been fantastic, tomorrow we’re headed to Aberdeen.
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